Ransomware is no joke. This very moment there are people racking their brains to figure out how to steal your data and sell it back to you. And it doesn’t discriminate between home and work. Imagine that. Check out this article from TribLive.com to learn more. Give us a call at Arete Technology Systems if you have more questions or if we can help in any way.
Source: triblive.com | Re-Post Arete Technology Systems 8/16/2018
Ransomware scams may attack a computer near you soon, the FBI warned Monday.
The computer software is malicious. It secretly installs itself and encrypts files only to hold the data hostage in return for payment of a ransom.
Home and business, banking, academic and government computers can be impacted.
In recent cases, victims have paid anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Usually, the computer screen freezes and a pop-up message warns that the user has violated some federal law and the computer will remain locked until money is paid, the FBI warned.
“You may also get a pop-up message saying your personal files have been encrypted and you have to pay to get the key needed to decrypt them. These messages often appear to be from the FBI or another federal agency,” FBI Pittsburgh Public Affairs Specialist Catherine Varnum Policicchio said.
“The FBI doesn’t support paying a ransom,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen said.
“Even if the victim does pay, there is no guarantee they’ll regain access to the data. The best way to protect yourself and your organization is to have a backup of your data, maintain it, and disconnect it from your computer.”